Former Hockey Player Adopts 21 Girls

Rohtak: Taking a cue from cricketer Gautam Gambir who decided to bear the educational expenses of the children of slain CRPF personnel in Sukhma, former Indian hockey player Ajit Pal Nandal on Wednesday adopted 21 girl students’ classes from VI to XII of a government school in his native Bohar village in the district.

Nandal said he would take care of their education, train them in sports and support their expenses in terms of equipment and fees vis-a-vis sports tournaments. He would also take care of their expenses till they clear Class XII exams from the government school.

The village school had identified 21 girls from Classes VI to XII who are from a humble background for adoption. Nandal said he assist them financially throughout their schooling period. Nandal, who runs a modern gymnasium and a stud farm in Rohtak, said other girl students of the school keen on sports training could avail of the facilities in his gymnasium free. Nandal says he was inspired by Gambhir to adopt these girls. He said that he was also a co-member of Task force constituted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an eye on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Rohtak SP Pankaj Nain, who was the chief guest at the event organised to announce the adoption, said girls have ten times more potential than boys in all aspects, and people only needed to spot their talent and guide them in the right direction. He said the district police had already adopted Bohar village to ensure youths are channelised properly.

Nandal said that he was also perturbed by bad name earned by the state particularly Rohtak due to recent crimes against women. He said that he was in talks with kins of Olympic bronze medalist Sakshi Malik adopt needy and talented girls to promote sports.